Fifth Republican Party presidential debate, December 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada

Candidate Airtime[1] Polls[2]
Trump 13:25 27.7%
Carson 10:27 17.6%
Cruz 15:58 13.0%
Rubio 13:33 12.6%
Bush 10:13 5.0%
Fiorina 9:32 2.8%
Christie 10:45 2.6%
Kasich 9:00 2.6%
Paul 9:46 2.5%
Candidate Airtime[3] Polls[2]
Huckabee 17:12 2.3%
Santorum 15:42 0.4%
Pataki 17:06 0.3%
Graham 18:36 0.3%

The Republican Party's fifth presidential debate ahead of the 2016 U.S. presidential election was held on December 15, 2015, at the Venetian Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada.[4]

It was the second debate to air on CNN, and was also broadcast by Salem Radio. The debate was moderated solely by Wolf Blitzer with Dana Bash and Hugh Hewitt serving alongside as questioners.[5]

The debate was split into primetime and pre-primetime groups based on averaged polling numbers; in order to participate in the main debate, candidates had to meet one of three criteria in polls conducted between October 29 and December 13 which were recognized by CNN—either an average of at least 3.5% nationally, or at least 4% in either Iowa or New Hampshire.[6] The secondary debate featured candidates that had reached at least 1% in four separate national, Iowa, or New Hampshire polls that are recognized by CNN.[6] Paul was included in the main debate after not qualifying under the original rules because he received 5% support in Iowa in a Fox News poll.[5][7]

The debate lineup was announced on December 13 to include Trump, Cruz, Rubio, Carson, Bush, Fiorina, Christie, Paul, and Kasich in the primetime debate, and Huckabee, Santorum, Graham, and Pataki in the undercard debate.[5] Commentators suggested that the key confrontation would be between Trump and Cruz, based on their respective polling in Iowa.[8]

Eighteen million people watched the debate, making it the third-largest audience ever for a presidential primary debate.[9] During the debate, the audible coughing was attributed to Ben Carson. His campaign admitted that they all got sick a month prior and Carson had kept the cough for weeks. The cough was "almost gone" and Carson was not really sick at the time.[10]

The undercard debate was the fourth and final debate appearance of Senator Lindsey Graham and former Governor George Pataki, who suspended their campaigns on December 21[11] and December 29,[12] respectively.

References

  1. ↑ Sprunt, Barbara. "The Debate Clock: Cruz Talks The Most". NPR.org. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "RealClearPolitics - Election 2016 - 2016 Republican Presidential Nomination". Real Clear Politics.
  3. ↑ "Who got the most airtime at the GOP debate?". Washington Examiner. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  4. ↑ "2016 Presidential Debates Fast Facts". CNN. August 20, 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Scott, Eugene (December 14, 2015). "Stage set for final GOP debate of 2015". CNN. Retrieved December 15, 2015.
  6. 1 2 "CNN Republican presidential debate criteria announced". CNN. November 20, 2015. Retrieved November 20, 2015.
  7. ↑ "How Rand Paul barely made it into Tuesday's main debate". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved January 2, 2016.
  8. ↑ Sahil Kapur,Michael C Bender,Kevin Cirilli (December 15, 2015). "How the Fifth Republican Debate Could Reshape the Race". Bloomberg.com/politics.
  9. ↑ "18 million watched Republican debate". USA TODAY. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  10. ↑ "The Cough That Consumed the GOP Debate". ABC News. December 16, 2015. Retrieved December 17, 2015.
  11. ↑ "First on CNN: Graham ends his campaign for the White House". CNN. December 21, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Former NY Gov. George Pataki announces he will end 2016 GOP presidential bid". Fox News. December 29, 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2015.
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